KEANU – Review

When you are given a film starring Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, and an adorable kitten, you should know what to expect. The comedic dynamic duo rose to fame following MADtv with their own series on Comedy Central – Key & Peele. Following a pre-recorded sketch comedy format, the show was able to examine and poke fun at social stereotypes, with stand-up segments peppered in where they frequently pointed out how nerdy and non-black they are in real life. This idea… along with a cute kitten, of course… is KEANU. Though the title might be a not so subtle wink at the audience who are familiar with the “Woah!” action star of the same name, the film seems to stay more in the nerdy guys who aren’t good at being black wheelhouse; something that Key and Peele excel at, but a crutch that fans of the series (like myself) have seen them comfortably rest on many times before.

In a twist of fate, a kitten who escapes a gang shoot-out shows up at the door of Rell (Jordan Peele) after his girlfriend just broke up with him. Of course, Rell immediately becomes infatuated with the cat that he names Keanu. However, the sunny times turn to rain when Rell’s apartment is broken into one stormy night and Keanu is taken. It’s now up to Rell and his buttoned-up best friend Clarence (Keegan-Michael Key) to retrieve Keanu from a local gang called the Blips.

Just as it sounds, they have to drop the nice guy act and are forced into a world where they clearly don’t fit in. It’s a true comedy of errors as Rell and Clarence have to toughen up, making up stories about doing backflips up walls in shoot-outs, showing off battle scars, and being coerced into leading a drug sale. Their inept posturing is frequently hilarious in the moment, even if it’s absurdly implausible. Although the theme of these jokes is consistently the same, Key and Peele sell them so well with their precise timing and spot-on delivery.

The film goes from one situation to the next. It’s a fairly fluid transition between skits, but it clearly feels like each scene ends with a setup to the next: a drug dealer’s house leads to a strip club, which leads to the leader’s lair, and so on and so on. Where their journey of incompetence comes to a screeching halt is when they arrive at the Hollywood home of a famous actress (with that said actress playing herself). Rell is forced to enter the home and lead the drug sale while Clarence is back at the car with members of the gang. Aside from the scene getting uncomfortably violent in a way that seems out of place, the exchange of banter goes on for far too long as you impatiently wait for the exchange of the drugs and money. It’s definitely not as funny as the sing-along that takes place back in the car, where several gang members learn the importance of “Faith.”

Though audiences will no doubt pine for more screen time with the adorable kitty, the other two stars of the film are just as entertaining even when they are selling material that doesn’t feel quite that fresh. KEANU doesn’t do much more than you’re expecting – in fact, maybe it delivers slightly less. With the reference to Keanu Reeves, a visual nod to Liam Neeson (“Liam Neesons is my shit!”), and the fact that fans of the show know how much they love “Bruce Willy,” KEANU rarely plays or pokes fun at the action tropes found in the films of these actors. Instead, Key and Peele play comfortably in their “we’re so bad at being black” playground. Between the popularity of skits from the show being shared online and the public’s love of cute cuddly cats, KEANU, for better or for worse, is manufactured for the Youtube generation to love.

Overall rating: 3 out of 5

KEANU is now playing in theaters everywhere